The Dubai Mercantile Exchange Limited (DME) announced today that cumulative trading in its benchmark DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract (DME Oman) has exceeded one million contracts, representing one billion barrels of crude oil traded, since its launch on June 1st, 2007.

At the close of trading on 27 November 2009, DME Oman had traded a total of 1,000,174 contracts, which at 1,000 barrels per contract is equivalent to more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil. Since its inception, DME Oman has provided the most fair and transparent price discovery mechanism for East of Suez crude markets. Reflecting the growing liquidity of its flagship contract, the DME reported a 60 per cent year on year increase in average daily volumes during 2009, averaging at 2,037 contracts.DME Oman continues to demonstrate a strong link to the underlying Oman crude physical market and is the largest physically delivered crude oil contract in the world. Physical deliveries of DME Oman have recently averaged 10 million barrels per month, achieving a record volume of 11.6 million barrels for September 2009 delivery. This development marks a 60 per cent increase in physically delivered volumes from August 2007 to date.

Marking the announcement, Ahmad Sharaf, Chairman of the DME said: “This is a very positive day for the DME. The billion barrels milestone is further confirmation to the markets, our stakeholders and shareholders that the fundamentals are in place for the long-term success of the flagship DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract and the DME as a whole”.

Craig Donohue, Chief Executive Officer of CME Group, commented: “CME Group congratulates DME on this significant milestone, which reflects the growing acceptance of the DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract among key energy traders and hedgers, particularly in the key AsiaPac region. We look forward to continued successful co-operation between our organisations, which together offer customers the three key crude oil benchmarks serving the Middle East, Europe and North America on a global platform, virtually around the clock.”

Thomas Leaver, Chief Executive Officer of the DME, added: “The DME continues to go from strength to strength. This time last year we were announcing more than 500,000 contracts traded in the 18 months since launch. Just 12 months on, we have succeeded in doubling that volume to one million. This is a testament to the overwhelming support of our customers and a growing recognition that DME Oman provides the most efficient price discovery and risk management tool to participants in the rapidly growing East of Suez markets.”